"These monsters have souls too. With enough of them, the power of my Innate Yin-Yang Eyes will soar, and the number of Yin-Yang Locks I can forge will multiply rapidly."
A thought flashed through Yi Tianxing's mind.
The reason the Yin-Yang Locks had grown so slowly before was because he couldn't go around slaughtering ghosts and vengeful spirits at will. Over the years, he had only managed to condense two Yin-Yang Locks. But now, monsters were everywhere—and these monsters also had souls. Upon killing them, he could absorb their souls to refine and cultivate more Yin-Yang Locks.
The speed of accumulation would surely be exponential.
After the zombie fell, it too left behind a Willpower Orb, along with a glowing sphere. When he picked up the sphere, an image of a zombie fang materialized inside it.
Zombie Fang: Refining Material. Can be used to forge magical artifacts or concoct pills. Mortal-grade, mid-tier.
Whoosh!!
A green, gelatinous creature came bouncing into view not far away. The monster had eyes and a mouth—it looked like an eerie blob of goo, moving by hopping like a liquid ball. It was a slime, and it was chasing an elderly man.
Splat!!
The green slime spat out a mouthful of liquid. As it landed on the old man, he let out a blood-curdling scream. White smoke began to rise from his body as the corrosive acid ate away at his flesh. In seconds, he was dead.
The liquid was an ultra-concentrated corrosive acid.
"Damn it!"
Yi Tianxing saw the elder die with his own eyes. Rage surged in his chest. He slung his battle spear across his back, grabbed his folding bow, and nocked an arrow without even looking. With a sharp release, he fired at the slime.
Swish!!
The arrow flew like lightning and struck the slime with precision, piercing its body and pinning it to the ground with sheer force.
Even then, the creature didn't die instantly. It squirmed and writhed in agony on the ground.
Yi Tianxing rushed forward, drew his Tang Blade, and with one clean stroke, sliced the slime in two. His Yin-Yang Eyes flickered. The slime's soul was drawn into his eyes and quickly refined—contributing to the formation of his third Yin-Yang Lock.
Splat, splat, splat!!
Right after he killed that slime, three more bounced out from a distance. Yi Tianxing didn't hesitate. He pulled back the bowstring and let loose three arrows, each one shooting through a slime's core.
All three monsters were killed instantly.
Inside the nearby buildings, some people peeked out through their windows. Seeing Yi Tianxing hunting monsters below, they gasped and opened their curtains wider.
"Look! Someone's fighting those monsters! He's incredible—his archery is so accurate. Every shot hits its mark. Who is that?"
"I've seen those green-skinned monsters before. A grown adult isn't their match—one hit from them and your bones snap, your skull shatters. And yet he's killed so many. He must have martial arts training."
"When monsters die, something appears—white orbs and glowing spheres. Is the world outside turning into some kind of video game?"
One veteran webnovel reader couldn't help but suspect the truth. The scene resembled a game—but here, life only came once. If you died, there was no respawn. The corpses lying around were real. The pain was real. The terror of being eaten alive was all too real.
No one knew what was going on, but the shadow of the apocalypse was clearly settling over their hearts.
Kill!!
Yi Tianxing had no time for distractions. His feet never stopped moving as he charged forward. The street was overrun with monsters—mostly goblins and slimes. Nearly everyone on the street had been killed. Now the monsters were pouring into the apartment buildings, and screams and blood filled the air.
People shouted down from their windows, calling for help as they saw Yi Tianxing bravely hunting monsters in the open.
But he paid them no heed. In this situation, there was no room for hesitation.
Heaven moves with strength; a gentleman should strive unceasingly. If you don't save yourself, no one can save you.
Kill! Kill! Kill!!
His heart was icy cold. He channeled his fury into strength, slaying monsters left and right—goblins, slimes, and even feral dogs and wolves that leapt at him from the shadows. The wild dogs were the size of calves, vicious and ruthless in battle.
Just then, from a nearby apartment building, a girl in jeans came running out. She had long legs and held a steel pipe—probably pried loose from somewhere in her home. Behind her, three goblins chased her relentlessly.
When she saw Yi Tianxing and the corpses of monsters around him, her eyes lit up and she cried out for help, running toward him as fast as she could.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!
Yi Tianxing didn't hesitate. He drew and fired three arrows in succession. Each one pierced the neck of a goblin, pinning them to the ground. They died within moments, each one bursting into white light that condensed into three Willpower Orbs.
He quickly moved forward, grabbed the three orbs, and tossed them into his backpack.
"Willpower Orbs!"
The girl's eyes lit up as she blurted out the words.
"Who are you? You recognize these Willpower Orbs?" Yi Tianxing's gaze landed on her face. Though she looked disheveled from running for her life, her natural beauty still shone through. She was easily a campus queen—delicate features and distinct charm. Not inferior to Zhao Ziyan or Tang Zitong in the slightest, each with her own allure.
"I'm Chen Xuerou. Yes, I know those are Willpower Orbs—formed from desire, obsession, and willpower. I also know what's happening to the world. You're Yi Tianxing, the exorcist. I know who you are."
Chen Xuerou didn't hesitate. Seeing the bodies of monsters all around, she understood how powerful the man before her was. In the apocalypse, survival depended on strong allies. And she really did know him—and had heard of his reputation for good character. Now, seeing how powerful he was, she clung to this opportunity like a lifeline and tried to show her value.
"You know me?"
Yi Tianxing frowned slightly and scanned their surroundings. Without stopping, he continued walking and said:
"Keep up. Talk while we move."
He had no intention of wasting time here. Finding the treasure was his top priority.
"Of course. You once exorcised a spirit at our university. Someone was playing with the pen fairy and accidentally summoned a vengeful ghost. It killed a student. The school invited you to perform the ritual. I saw you then. I know how powerful you are—and your reputation is stellar in your field."
Chen Xuerou was fit from frequent workouts and yoga, so she wasn't easily exhausted. She kept pace with him and continued speaking.
Crunch!!
A glowing-eyed wild dog suddenly lunged out from a shadow. Yi Tianxing stepped aside smoothly and, in one motion, drew his Tang Blade and decapitated the beast.
A burst of white light. Another Willpower Orb appeared. He picked it up and tossed it into his backpack.
"You said you know what's going on with the world? Why are these monsters suddenly appearing?" Yi Tianxing asked as he continued moving.
He was deeply curious about the origin of this calamity. The change was too abrupt—like the world had fallen into an apocalyptic dream.
"When the sky cracked open earlier, beams of divine light shot out. I was standing on my balcony, and one of those beams flew straight into my home. It was a book—a jade book, called the Wordless Heavenly Tome. It contains records about the origins of this great cataclysm."
Chen Xuerou answered without hesitation.
"Wordless Heavenly Tome?"
Yi Tianxing's heart skipped a beat. That was one of the treasures that had first shot out from the rift. He hadn't expected this girl to be the one who picked it up. But now wasn't the time to examine it.
"What does it say?"
Yi Tianxing loosed a few more arrows mid-conversation, killing several goblins in his path.
"There's only one page. It says:
'The Dao of Heaven has changed. The desires, obsessions, and intentions of all living beings now flood the world. Heaven can no longer bear the burden. Malice runs rampant. Fantasies birthed from countless wills manifest into reality. Good and evil, obsession and desire intertwine endlessly. The Heavenly Dao has reached its limit. At its breaking point, it transforms. Fantasies descend. Myriad worlds merge. All things compete freely beneath the frosty heavens.'"
Chen Xuerou recited quickly.
"Fantasies descending… So these monsters are all formed from fantasies and obsessions? That explains why they look like creatures from fiction. And why they drop Willpower Orbs when they die."
Yi Tianxing's expression shifted. A trace of clarity flickered in his heart. He was beginning to grasp the cause behind this cataclysm.
All beings have consciousness. Where there is thought, there is desire—good desires, dark desires, obsessions. Especially in the modern age, with humanity's population exploding and the world drowning in materialism, the swirl of mental energy grew ever more chaotic.
And thought—consciousness—was the most mysterious force of all.
Yi Tianxing had studied many Daoist scriptures. According to those texts, divine spirits existed because people believed in them. A mountain god, for example, might never have existed—but if enough villagers imagined and prayed to one for protection, that shared belief could give rise to its existence.
Human thoughts could give birth to gods.
The power of Willpower was beyond imagination.
In this modern age, human imagination was wilder than ever. Movies, novels, games—endless sources of fantasy. And when countless people imagined the same things… those thoughts, those desires, could indeed give birth to worlds.
Sentient beings could create reality through sheer will.